This photo of "The Witch Lactation Station," was part of a Halloween display in Brattleboro, Vermont. Lauren and David Petrie, the creators of this fantastic work of art, drew tons of controversy as a result. Breastfeeding in public is always a hot topic and even though this breast was a mere gourd, it made it onto CBS news in Boston. If you've got any similar Halloween ideas and have taken pictures, please feel free to send them my way and I'd love to post them!

I've probably mentioned this before, but every week I run a breastfeeding support group and, without fail, every week seems to carry a "theme" amongst the moms. One week, everyone seems to have sore nipples. Another, milk supply issues are all the rage. This past week, a signficant portion of the moms were talking about searing nipple and breast pain, so I thought it would be a great time to focus on thrush. How do you know if you have it? What is the best way to treat it? Here's everything you need to know...THRUSH

It may sound crazy, but one of the biggest points of contention in our house is Facebook. My husband, my kids, and even a little bit of my dog, are constantly up-in-arms, claiming that I spend more time on Facebook than I do with them. Of course, one of my excuses is that I'm constantly on the computer writing for About, and I'm just "checking in" to my Facebook page to see what's happening. I'll admit that I do get roped in to flexing my vocabulary muscle by playing Scramble, and by having simultaneous instant message conversations with old buddies from my teen tour, with colleagues, with moms in my weekly support group, and with friends from the gym. But I see them all as opportunity to close the distance in time, to cultivate new friendships, or, simply, to help with a problem. I dabble in Twitter, but I'm not as addicted. All joking aside, social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are providing such value to the world, it's difficult to make the argument that they are just a procrastination tool.

Case in point: How Social Media Saved Jaeli, a wonderful blog by Angela England about a four-month-old baby with a rare chromosomal disorder, who required breast milk to survive. The story is compelling in itself, but the social media aspect is what really amazed me. I won't ruin the story (or more, do it justice) by paraphrasing, so please read the blog for full impact!

I'm the first to say that I am one power nerd. I just spent a few weeks poring through Diana Glick and Tanya Lieberman's Spanish for Breastfeeding Support, which is a fantastic workbook/course to teach you how to communicate all-things-breastfeeding with Spanish-speaking moms. It is primarily intended for lactation consultants, breastfeeding peer counselors, nurses, physicians, midwives and childbirth educators, but anyone would benefit from this book. (Putting aside the fact that I'm a lactation consultant, I felt like I was back in high school, getting excited when I was on a hot streak with correct answers!)

Spanish for Breastfeeding Support also contains two CD's and audio files that can be downloaded which have spoken versions of the conversations in each chapter. They also have exercises covering vocabulary, pronunciation, and listening. The workbook is an invaluable resource and so much fun! Kudos to Glick and Lieberman for a job beautifully done!

A few weeks ago, I posted about the Quintessence Foundation's Breastfeeding Challenge 2009. Well, yesterday was the big day and, from what I understand, it was a huge success. A huge thanks to Rosie from Full Circle Family Care in White Plains, New York, for sharing these photos. Great job to all moms who participated!

Life often takes some horrible, unexpected turns during times which are supposed to be the sweetest and most special.

Robbie Goodrich, a now single father of two, living in Marquette, Michigan, knows this all too well. His wife, Susan, died last January of an amniotic fluid embolism after she gave birth to their son, Moses. Throwing Robbie for a loop, to say the least, the community was fascinatingly supportive. Approximately two dozen women have converged upon him, in shifts, to breastfeed Moses, many of them close friends of Susan. Quite a few of them are also pumping milk for the baby.

Goodrich states, "They don't just drop by for five minutes and leave. These are loving, nurturing women. They're proud of what they're doing. They're proud of the community, and they're proud of their new micro-community."

Here's what a few of the "team members" have to say about the experience:

• Carrie Fiocchi says she realizes Moses isn't her baby, but the bond is inescapable. "He definitely feels like family."
• Kyra Fillmore states, "I felt like I was doing this for Susan. It's really emotional because, while it's nice to hold a newborn, I think to myself, 'It shouldn't be me.'"

Goodrich agrees with Fillmore. "It's a reminder of the loss. They're doing something that Susan would do."

So now let's talk: Have you ever nursed someone else's baby? I would love to hear your comments!

The Food and Drug Administration states that the Evenflo Company, a baby products manufacturer, has failed to follow-up with complaints from women who claim that they received electrical shocks while using the company's breast pumps ("Comfort Select"). In a warning letter to Evenflo, the FDA said that it found manufacturing violations of breast pumps at two Ohio plants in January and February. Since that time, the FDA and Evenflo have worked to fix those violations of FDA manufacturing rules, and Evenflo has been giving monthly updates to the FDA.

During the inspections, the FDA learned that Evenflo was not compliant with the agency's manufacturing practice rules, including "failure to review and evaluate all complaints" and for failing "to establish medical device reporting procedures for your breast pumps." The FDA requires that companies report problems with devices to the FDA. The agency said it reviewed 37 complaints. Eighteen of the complaints were not investigated by Evenflo, and at a minimum, three of those were reports from women receiving an electrical shock when using the breast pumps. The FDA says that companies must investigate complaints that involve "the possible failure of a device to meet any of its specifications."

Evenflo's associate general counsel, Amy Neff, said that the company does investigate its consumer complaints, but said that the problem was a "documentation issue." In its most recent letter, the FDA said that Evenflo's response to the complaint-investigation problem is now "adequate." However, on the medical-device reporting problem, the FDA said the company has yet to fully address the agency's concerns. Evenflo's Vice President of Quality and Product Integrity, Lindsay Harris, states, "We are working cooperatively with the FDA" to address [their] concerns. He claims that Evenflo reports all device complaints to the agency.

I will keep you posted on any new developments in this matter, but wanted to give you a heads-up.

I wanted to share this fabulous piece by Molly Remer, a La Leche League leader in Missouri. Articles (whether clinical or creative non-fiction) about breastfeeding are typically a dime a dozen, but this one really stands out. (And a huge thanks to Terri for alerting me!)

On October 3, The Quintessence Foundation's "Breastfeeding Challenge" will take place throughout the United States and Canada. The premise of the challenge is to have the most children breastfeeding simultaneously in a set geographic area – province, territory, state or country at 11am local time. If you want to be part of this historic event, be sure to register!

In the myriad efforts across the globe to "go green", the one act that often gets put on the back burner is breastfeeding. It's funny because I know many families who are ardent recyclers; use cloth diapers; pay all of their bills online; insist on everything in the household being organic. Yet, when it comes to feeding their baby, they opt for organic formula...

Huh?

About.com's Guide to Green Living, Marc Lallanilla, has a fantastic article, 10 Baby Steps to a Healthy Baby, where breastfeeding is high on his list. Check it out!